Strong Connection
by irondad-loves-us-3000
Summary: Tony Stark lost everything. But all he really needs is a certain kid by the name of Peter Parker. His son.


**Strong Connection**  
**Tony Stark**  
I was not ready. I thought I was ready to meet the rogues and who they have become but I still have nightmares of Capsicle's shield crushing into my reactor, my suit battered and heavily damages, my person had bruises all over, Rhodey had fallen and ended up paralyzed. I made him a prosthetic, I know but I do not forgive myself for what happened. Rhodey had been there for me since MIT, since Afghanistan, since the major changes in my life, since I turned from genius, murderer, playboy, billionaire to genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and hero.  
Pepper was the only assistant who put up with me for such a long time, she was the perfect woman for me. She took no shit from anybody, including me and grounded me. Supported me through my nightmares, comforted me after panic attacks and put up with me in my most egotistical moments. She knew the real me. The one with issues, the one with panic attacks, the one with nightmares, the one with anxiety, the one who had problems.  
Happy put up with me doing dangerous things even before Iron Man, put up with me doing controversial things, making sure I did not get hurt and played along (professionally) with the things I used to do just to ensure my safety.  
Steve was my friend. Sure, we started off on the wrong foot but we eventually got to know each other enough to tolerate and trust each other. I trusted him to do what was right and tell me about my parents. I wish he would have told me about Bucky. While I was mad because of my parents' murder, I knew that he was brainwashed by Hydra and that it was Hydra's fault. I would have helped him. Heck, I did and am helping him recover, I helped make his metal arm and I placed him in Wakanda to be treated there. I was the one who remade his suit, made it better, made it stronger. I was the one who made his shield whenever he broke it and whenever he damaged it to the point of no use.  
"Natasha had been my best friend, understanding me in the same cold-hearted way I understood her (as much as I could), she knew the way I acted, the way sunglasses were a way to hide my eyes and my emotions, the way I had the weight of everything I have done on my shoulders just like hers. I was the one who made sure there was nothing red in her room because it reminded her of the blood on her ledger.  
Sam had been added to the team and I welcomed him with open arms. I knew he was frustrated by the politics and the possibilities of being stopped from saving the world but Lord knows we would have disobeyed the law if it ever came to it. I wish I could have convinced him better.  
Bruce and Thor have been missing for a while now. I wonder what they would think about everything that has been happening. Would they side with me? Would they side with Capsicle? Would they have agreed to the Accords? Bruce had been the person I could geek out with and knew about me but happily ignored but acknowledged the fact that we both had problems but would not bother each other about it because we knew that the other wanted to deal with it alone. I was the one who made sure that Bruce had a big room and a big lab so that when he accidentally turned into Hulk, there would be enough space. I was the only one that thought of Hulk as a positive thing because he was and it was part of Bruce so we all had to accept it and treat him like a normal person./p  
Clint and Scott, while I had only known the latter in battle, I was saddened by the fact that they both had to be kept into their houses because they have families. I envied their domestic life and how they balanced it out but I wish they could just be pardoned. I was the one that made sure there were darts, arrows, and targets in his room if he wanted to play around even though there were already training room.  
I had taken in Wanda even though she did something that caused trauma for us because I knew, that just like us, she had blood on her ledger and she wanted to fix it. I knew she had been miserable about what happened in Nigeria, she had wanted to apologize, she wanted to make things right and she tried her best but she was the youngest at the time and she was not as experienced as us and it was ok. Cap stopped her and I agreed with one of his two reasons. One because he did get distracted by the name of his best friend but not with two because he treated her like a baby and did not tell her to own up to her mistakes and while it comforted her, he should have known better.  
I wish I could have stopped it from happening. I wish the fall out between us did not happen. I wish we did not get separated. I wish I did not hurt and that I did not get hurt by my crazy, dysfunctional family but I did and we did. I honestly only thought about the Accords because it was the best way to set boundaries because why would we be any different than those we try to stop if we do not have restraint if we did not have control? I knew that the main goal was the good part and that the politics were shitty but I believe I am a sensible person and I knew that while we would abide by the reasonable laws, the politics-ridden ones and if it ever came to it, forgo the ones that stopped us from stopping casualties and saving the world. Vision was right. Power brings challenge. Challenge inflicts conflict. Conflict breeds catastrophe. The least we could do for the world was to protect it using our power. I understand the cliche that people could and would lie to people they cared about if they thought it was best but we are not cliches, we are not normal, we are people who need to face the truth and accept it and with the right amount of time, I would have. He left me alone to die and I knew I was not totally innocent and I made some mistakes too but he should not have done what he did and I should not have done what I did. All I know is that I thought it would be best and I thought wrong.  
During the battle, I brought Spider-Man. This genius prodigy that made his own webs and web-shooters out of scrap materials. He is such a good person with a big moral compass that would help average day people on average day crimes from a cat stuck in a tree to a mugging. He has a lot of potential and for a year I tried to stay away from him because I was scared that I would turn out like Howard. I wanted to be able to comfort him, praise him, save him and protect him but I did not know if I could and how I would do it so I used tough love. It backfired and made me seem like Howard but I decided to try and get closer to him. Though I would never have admitted it then, I see Peter as a son. He still calls me Mr. Stark as a joke because I feel old when he says it but it's like a nickname he gave for me, the same way I gave the nickname kid to him. He is an actual intern now, my personal intern, in fact, he is just as smart or even smarter than me. He helps me with suit upgrades and random projects when we get inspiration. I gave him his own lab for Spider-Man and some side-projects. He always gives time to tinker and goes back-and-forth with lower-level interns and everybody loves him. He is called Mini-Stark, Mini-Boss or Boss' kid. And no one corrected them until it just stuck. We spent time together now only working but also having movie marathons and cuddling. I enjoyed his presence. Surprisingly, he can hand me things to me without making me uncomfortable, he can hug me without making it awkward, I help him through nightmares, he told me what happened with the Vulture, I ruffle his hair and he always blames me for its messiness, he helps me through nightmares, comforting me just by his mere presence. I was connected to him.

Rhodey was so surprised but he has been entitled the cool uncle now and Happy was the unhappy yet caring uncle. Soon after we got closer, his Aunt May died. I comforted him and took him in. When I asked him, he said yes to me adopting him and even though it was a secret, I was happy with being with him and getting closer to him. He even managed to get Pepper and I back together and helped me plan my proposal. Thankfully, Pepper said yes and from then on we knew we had things to deal with and loose ends either reconnected or cut off but we lived in the moment and cherished every minute. I may have lost my crazy, dysfunctional family but this kid is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love him more than my own life. I will do everything to protect him. I may have lost the connections to my crazy dysfunctional family but I have Underoos and he is the **only one** that matters.

**After-Credits**  
**Peter Parker**  
I love my dad. And that is **all that matters**.


End file.
